English: Portrait of Adolf Hitler in a light brown jacket with four pockets (Waffenrock) as a political uniform as leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), left hand on hip, and wearing a red swastika-emblazoned armband (Hakenkreuzarmbinde) on left upper arm. Wound Badge (1918) in Black and Iron Cross (1914) 1 Class on left side of uniform tunic. Painting by Heinrich Knirr 1937; Oil on canvas; Height 1295 mm, width 965 mm; No known copyright restrictions as the artist died in 1944. Imperial War Museum, London: www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/15522 Catalogue number: Art.IWM ART LD 6217

Geoff Walden, www.thirdreichinruins.com: A favored theme for Third Reich artists was portraits of the Führer. These became so numerous that Hitler finally decreed that only one would be displayed "officially" at each annual Greater German Art Exhibition (although this order was not followed every year). The portrait chosen for the grand opening in 1937 was Heinrich Knirr's "Adolf Hitler, der Schöpfer des Dritten Reiches und Erneuerer der deutschen Kunst" (Hitler, the Creator of the Third Reich and Renewer of German Art - this original painting is now in the Imperial War Museum in London). The 1938 portrait was Hubert Lanzinger's allegorical "Der Bannerträger" (The Standard Bearer), showing Hitler as an armored knight. This painting became very popular in poster and postcard form.
See also "Knirr: Führerbildnis" in exhibition guide 1937 here and here.